Stroud Sport
Sporting legacy
3:10pm Friday 3rd February 2012
Over 3,600 young people in the South West have been inspired to do sport in their own time in the first six months of Sport England’s Sportivate Olympic and Paralympic legacy initiative.
Cornish youngsters are leading the way – with around 1,100 of them receiving six to eight weeks of coaching in a sport of their choice, with the help of Cornwall Sports Partnership, which is managing the National Lottery funded programme in the county.
Responding to the legacy pledge made by Seb Coe in Singapore in 2005, Sportivate is aimed at young people who currently aren’t playing sport in their own time, giving them the chance to find a sport they enjoy. They’re then helped to find a club or venue where they can keep taking part.
Sport England’s Chair, Richard Lewis, said: "We’re delighted that so many young people in the East Midlands have been inspired to get involved in sport through Sportivate. This is what the Olympic and Paralympic legacy is all about and it’s fantastic to hear about all those finding a new passion for sport."
All those who complete a sports course, missing no more than one session, and then continue to play sport for at least three months will have the chance to enter a ballot for free London 2012 tickets. Sport England has hundreds of Olympic and Paralympic tickets available for Sportivate participants via the London 2012 Ticketshare initiative.
Some of the participants that took part in a Sportivate project with Nankersey Gig Club have since been selected to take part in the 2012 Gig Rowing World Championships on the Isles of Scilly.
20-year-old Oli Maskrey, a Science student from the University of Exeter Tremough Campus, said: "I love rowing because it gets me out on the water. We’re all really excited about going to the world championships which is a really great opportunity that I wouldn’t have had without the Sportivate project that got me started!"
A number of other projects have been successfully set up to support Cornish youngsters try something new and subsequently continue taking part. Two success stories in Cornwall include ‘Sportivate Gymivate’ at a number of Cornish leisure centres and ‘Sportivate Touches Down’ at the Dracaena Centre in Falmouth.
James Clarke, Senior Development Officer with Cornwall Council Leisure, said: "The Sportivate Gymivate project has been a real success and has seen over 200 young people access our facilities across the county.
"We know from the data we collected, that the majority of the young people on the project were not previous users of the leisure facilities and many stated they had done very little physical activity in the previous four weeks to registering. We hope that the young people who have accessed the Gymivate project will continue to use the facilities or take part in other physical activities."
Jamie Tresidder, Sports Development Officer at the Dracaena Centre, said: "Sportivate has proven to be a huge success at The Dracaena Centre in Falmouth with over 75 16- to 25-year-olds from the local community in a number of different activities. It has provided the participants with access to these sports in a recreational and casual environment where they have been able to gain the confidence and skills to develop and sustain participation.
"Through the success of Sportivate and the enthusiasm it has given the participants, we are now developing both an American Football and Ladies Football team to be based at The Dracaena Centre which are now looking for friendly fixtures. "Thank you to the CSP, the coaches and all the participants for making Sportivate such a massive success here at Dracaena!"
As part of the Places People Play official legacy programme, Sportivate will see 300,000 teenagers and young adults completing sports courses over four years across England.